I've hand sewed many historical outfits and their undergarments (a 900's Viking outfit and a 1500's Tudor farthingale dress as two examples) and am getting ready to start my Regency 1812 ball gown - all hand sewn of course. And I only use the equipment available at the time the garment would have been actually made to make it more historically accurate.
But, now that I've gotten into making quilts I could NOT imagine hand sewing one of them. Egads! Don't ask me what the difference is but there is one. lol
My List:
Scissors - good ones
Pincushions - I made one in the shape of a stuffed peacock. The tail feathers are attached with magnets. They come off and they're my pattern weights.
Iron - a good one that does not have auto-shutoff. I have my grandmother's Black and Decker Easy iron that still works great. It's my backup iron. Cannot stand the auto-shutoff on irons nowadays! By the time I'm ready to iron it's turned itself off and then I have to wait for it to heat up again. Grrrr...
Cutting mat and rotary cutter
Rulers - all of them...and I'm trying to own all of them. lol
Interfacing, iron on bias tape, and iron on hemming tape - they make sewing that much easier.